STAFF

MEET OUR STAFF

Jamie Diaz

Jamie Diaz is a professional certified dog trainer, CPDT-KA. Jamie is a licensed positive dog trainer with world renowned trainer Victoria Stilwell. Jamie was hand-selected and evaluated by Victoria herself, and is part of a team that is the best of the best worldwide! Jamie is also a professional member of the APDT, (Association of Pet Dog Trainers). She is a certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the AKC. Jamie is also an evaluator and instructor for the great new program C.L.A.S.S. which was formed from the APDT to promote training focused on the use of positive reinforcement and to strengthen relationships through positive training methods. Jamie is also a Certified Trick Dog Instructor.

Jamie Diaz is a CNWI, Certified Canine Nosework Instructor. Jamie believes that K9 nosework can benefit any and every dog! It is an amazingly fun activity that you can do with your dog just for fun, or you can take it to the competition level. Jamie has been working with various breeds of dogs for years from puppies to adult dogs.

Jamie attended Animal Behavior College where she received her certification in Dog Training. Through her practice, she has found that force free training works for all breeds of all ages.

Jamie works with many reactive dogs and has helped owners with their aggression issues with their dogs. Jamie understands the importance of not fighting fear with fear and has been successful in doing so when working with the tougher cases.

Her goal is to train every dog using force-free methods which will make for a happier, well-balanced dog. This process takes hard work and consistency from ALL OF US! Training should continue throughout a dog’s life. Every moment of every day your dog is learning something, whether we are teaching them or not. Let’s take those moments and direct our dogs in a positive way. Remember EVERY GOOD DOG HAS A GREAT OWNER!

Isabel C. Allison

Isabel C. Allison is a Certified Dog Trainer, a graduate of the Animal Behavioral College (ABC) and a member of APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers). After moving back home from living in the Bahamas for 20 years and working in the restaurant business for 10 years, she wanted to do something that she loved and has a passion for. Having had dogs throughout her life. She previously trained her dogs in the old school method of training. While completing her education certification with ABC and having Jamie Diaz as her mentor, she realized that there were better methods of training. She was amazed how much you could achieve with positive reinforcement training, dedication, and patience. Her goal is to educate herself with different methods of force-free training that will help deal with different behavioral problems with dogs, so she can in return educate and change people’s minds set that using force free is the better method to train your beloved ones.

Dawn Thomason

Dawn Thomason, CPDT-KSA, AKC-CGC, loves dogs. She grew up with a wide variety of pets, including turtles, bunnies, hawks, and of course, dogs: she trained them all. She realized that dog training was her true calling when she was hired by a local pet store after seeing her impressive stage presentation, about Safety Around Dogs, at a Pet Exposition in 2001. Dawn became Senior Trainer in a few months and Area Trainer within her first year.

Through the years, she has successfully worked with pet therapy groups and is qualified to work with service dogs. One of her biggest skills is time and patience and she always uses positive-reinforcement techniques to achieve long-term results. Dawn continues to give many lecture demonstrations for service dog programs and pet expositions.

Dawn’s faithful companion dog is a 7-year-old Sheltie, named Faolan. Toonie is her partner at Canine Performance Competitions. They have shown in obedience, rally, agility, and sheep and duck herding. They also participated in flyball, tracking and lure coursing. Dawn says: “Now, after 15 years as a dog trainer, I am thrilled to be part of the Dynamite Dog Training Team; I can provide classes for agility, rally and upper levels of obedience classes.

Alison Chambers

Alison Chambers is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, member of the Pet Professional Guild, AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, and also a C.L.A.S.S. evaluator and member of the APDT. Alison got her start at Animal Behavior College, where she mentored under Jamie Diaz, owner of Dynamite Dog Training. Alison’s insight and natural abilities as a trainer proved herself to be part of the Dynamite team, and her professionalism and can-do attitude then promoted her to head trainer and operations manager. Alison is a former equestrian, and that is how her interest began in animal training. Her latest accomplishment has also becoming service dog trainer for the Train A Dog Save a Warrior program.

Alison has owned several different breeds and has had dogs of her own since the age of five, her personal interest being high drive working dogs. Her previous dogs included Golden Retrievers, Maltese, Jack Russell Terriers, Belgian Malinois, and a multitude of mixed-breed rescues. Alison has trained all of her dogs using only positive training methods, and truly believes it makes for a happier and healthy dog.

Alison helped rehabilitate some of her own fearful and aggressive dogs, and thanks to her patience and understanding, has developed them into confident, well-balanced family members. She hopes to pursue these misunderstood canines to rehab them to their full potential. Alison thoroughly enjoys training the “tougher” dogs and teaches the leash reactive dog class at Dynamite. She also teaches K9 Nosework and Off-Leash Puppy classes at the training center.

Alison’s thirst for canine knowledge has surpassed her from the rest. Her goals include gaining her CPDT-KA as well as her K9 Nosework Instructor certifications. Alison lives in Boca Raton with her two personal dogs, Otto, a bull terrier mix, and Ruca, a Belgian Malinois. She loves to attend sheep herding and plans on pursuing the dog sport world of dock diving and French Ring. Alison loves learning and interacting with every breed that she can, and believes that force free training works for every dog.

Auburn Showalter

Auburn Showalter is a lifelong dog fanatic. Old home movies will show her, at an early age, infatuated while observing and talking to the family dogs. By the time she was in elementary school she was walking all the dogs in the neighborhood, for free. A black lab, named Ace, was her sixteenth birthday present, and she taught him to respond enthusiastically to about 80 commands and tricks.

Auburn’s first opportunity to work with dogs professionally, was at a 40 acre, 2-week Doggy Boot Camp. She was thrilled to be working with dogs, but disheartened by the old school methods; it ultimately was not a good fit. She decided she wanted to work with dogs using modern day positive-reinforcement techniques. She enrolled in the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy, and it was a match made in heaven. It was there that she was introduced to Dynamite Dog Training.

Auburn says, “No other animal has bonded so closely and provided so much to mankind. They really are our best friends, and I strive to return the favor by encouraging a more enriching life for our pets and improving owner-dog communication.” Her personal dog, Aspen, a chocolate lab, loves accompanying her to work and has proven himself as a valuable tool for helping shy and insecure dogs become more confident. Auburn has selected Agility and Dock Diving for Aspen, to provide him with a more fulfilling life and continually strengthen their bond and communication.

Shannon Medeiros

Shannon Medeiros grew up owning dogs and pets of every kind. Her authentic love and passion for animals along with her desire to interact and assist other dog owners has led her to join the team at Dynamite Dog Training, as the front desk receptionist. When not behind the desk, Shannon can always be found at the barn trail riding or jumping with her horse.

Shannon has owned several breeds of dog but currently shares her home in Coral Springs with two Yorkshire Terriers, Gizmo, and Bear, and her Pitbull Terrier, Duke. As every pet owner knows, no two dogs are the same. Shannon has found that positive reinforcement training has been the most successful for her reactive dog, Duke, and could not imagine training him any other way.

Ruth Love-Kientzy

Ruth, a mother of 3 and grandmother of 5; has a passion for dogs and computers. In 1970 she started working with computers in Philadelphia, and later, in New York City. After 20 years in the corporate world, she joined the family in Atlanta, GA, and opened a groom shop, called Pampered Paws. She retired to South Florida in 2000, where she now lives with her husband, Joe and Prancer, a rescue Papillon and Long Hair Chihuahua mix. She says she has found the perfect “retirement job,” Office Manager at Dynamite Dog Training; an office with 2 computers and always filled with dogs.

Landon Franciscus

Landon Franciscus fell in love with dog training in late 2014 when he was offered a job professionally training dogs through PetSmart. He had always grown up with dogs but was never exposed to the training world due to having been raised overseas in a missionary family. It was through PetSmart he met the senior area trainer who inspired him to put forth his skill and passion for positive reinforcement based dog training. Though Landon loved working with dogs, he did not enjoy working for a company that profited off of aversive methods such as prong and electronic collars.

After reaching out to head trainer of Dynamite Dog Training, Alison Chambers, Landon became a part of the team mid-June of 2017 and has become a fervent advocate with the company dynamic to train dogs through patience and redirection as opposed to forceful, traditional methods.
Landon’s personal dog, Leah, is a Doberman/Shar Pei rescue and his best friend. He will be having her earn her Trick Title along with participating in Nose Work classes as she loves nothing more than exploring the array of scents around her.

Landon has been immersed in the works of Victoria Stilwell, world-renowned dog trainer, author, and star of the tv show, ‘It’s Me Or the Dog’ for years prior to discovering Dynamite Dog Training. It is his goal to continually expand his education by gaining his CPDT-KA, attending the Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy in Atlanta, GA, and becoming a key asset as a positive reinforcement dog trainer.